We plan on building a large replica of Herb Caen’s “Loyal Royal” typewriter that doubles as a small urban amphitheater. The “keys” will actually be seats that allow people to sit, relax and observe the city around them. The underside of these seats will be wired with a small motion sensor that activates a speaker that will recite a memorable Herb Caen quote when someone sits down.

Anyone willing to take a step back and observe the bustle of Market Street from our perch will be rewarded with phrases which, though familiar-sounding, may have been unfamiliar in origin until that moment. We plan to select Caen quotes that shine a light on Market Street and the neighborhoods that surround it. By presenting these quotes in a setting that makes it easy for pedestrians of all ages and backgrounds to relax, observe, and interact, we hope to create a shared experience that will give strangers an opportunity to engage with one another.

The original title of Herb Caen's column was "It's News to Me", and the narrative that Caen crafted with his column was instrumental in shaping how entire generations view the City, yet today it would be news to many of those on the street that Caen was responsible for so many of our City's loving descriptions. Caen described his column as “a continuous love letter to San Francisco”, and we hope that this project will inspire a new generation to fall in love with Caen and the City that he loved.

Introducing Groundplay -- join us in celebrating the launch of San Francisco Planning’s Groundplay program at the Exploratorium on March 22nd at 6pm as part of their Conversations About Landscape speaker series. Pavement to Parks is merging with Living Innovation Zones and the Market Street Prototyping Festival into one citywide program called Groundplay.

Panelists include Deborah Cullinan, CEO of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Katy Tang, San Francisco Supervisor for District 4, Shawn Lani, Studio Director of Studio for Public Spaces at Exploratorium, and will be moderated by Kay Cheng and Ilaria Salvadori of City Design Group, San Francisco Planning Department.

Join us for a Happy Hour Q&A at The Hall! Come meet and mingle with the MSPF team and get a chance to discuss any questions you might have about your project submissions and ideas. The MSPF Open Call for new projects for our 2016 festival is open until Apr 15. We’ll also be joined by some of last year’s participants who can share their experiences. Bring your friends and prototype ideas and we’ll see you there!

Who Went?

Calling all Bay Area citizens! MSPF is now accepting new project applications for our 2016 festival! Do you have an idea to make Market Street a more vibrant public space? We want to hear about it, submissions accepted now thru Apr 15.

Here's an in depth analysis of the 2015 festival from Gehl Studio San Francisco. "Makers on Market" summarizes key findings and insights from the Festival, identifies prototypes with potential of influencing the design of Market Street, and outlines a framework for using prototyping events as a way to engage members of the public in finding solutions to public challenges.

Our work depends on you! YBCA values our community partners as primary stakeholders as we evolve and grow together. We believe that nurturing and deepening mutually-beneficial relationships with community based organizations, nonprofits, schools, local businesses, artists and creative problem-solvers is key to our interdependent success.

Join us! Participate in the process to select the 10 most successful prototypes--emerging from the pilot festival--for incubation. Together, we will identify the most forward-thinking, diverse citizen-driven solutions for re-energizing Market Street.

An open call for creative ways to improve Market Street yielded hundreds of submissions from citizens and organizations. Fifty of these submissions were chosen to create rough models, or “prototypes”, that demonstrate how their idea would work. From April 9th - 11th, Market Street will come alive with these ideas. Its wide sidewalks will be filled with temporary installations ranging from performances spaces, relaxation zones, dynamic art pieces, and more.

Come and walk the festival route, check out the installations, and tell us what you think. A selection of these designs will then move from prototype to reality, as part of our city’s Better Market Street initiative.

Please join our 50 design teams as they share their latest designs on how to make Market Street a more connected and vibrant street. Share your insights with the project designers, and learn more about how to get engaged in the festival this April. We want to hear your feedback - it's important for our designers to understand what works and what doesn't work for residents. This event is free and open to the public.